2010 Hawai'i Physics Olympics, bridge building contest rescheduled

The 21st annual Hawai‘i Physics Olympics & Regional Bridge Building Contest will be held on Saturday, March 13, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at the Physical Science Building and Watanabe Hall on the UH Mānoa campus. (The event, originally scheduled for February 27, was postponed because of the tsunami warning.

About 150 high school students, in over 30 teams from public and private schools on O‘ahu, will challenge each other in five fun events based on concepts in physics, and an optional bridge-building contest. Testing of bridges will take place in the Physical Science Building room 217 throughout the morning, with an awards ceremony to follow at noon.

Participating high schools are Farrington, Kamehameha, McKinley, Mid-Pacific, Punahou, Radford, Roosevelt, Sacred Hearts and UH Lab. The events will be designed and run by undergraduate students from UH Mānoa, Kapi‘olani Community College, and Brigham Young University Hawai‘i.

The public is invited to view the events, but space is limited and seating may not be available for spectators. For more information, contact Michael Jones (956-2932) or Pui Lam (956-2988) at the UH Mānoa Physics & Astronomy Department.

The event is sponsored by the Hawaii chapter of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the KCC Engineering Club and the UH Mānoa chapter of the Society of Physics Students.